A Warrior's Tale: Duty to protect
by Cowboy-4-Christ
Summary: An assassin has infiltrated the halls of Cair Paravel, putting the High King in danger. Can this threat be sought out from amidst all in attendance to the palace or will the agent of evil succeed in his work?
1. Prologue

**Guess what, I don't own Narnia, who knew right.**

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Summary

An assassin has infiltrated the halls of Cair Paravel and has left the High King poisoned, can the infiltrator be sought out from amidst all attendance to the halls or will the agent of evil succeed in his work?

(Rainquicken tenth, first hour)

Two dark creatures sat atop the crest of a hill overlooking Cair Paravel, one was a harpy and the other a werewolf, they were hidden from sight because of the Harpy's spell, but even they knew that there was One that could still see them. Even though he was invisible, Galum cowered under a gnarled tree, trying to hide from the moon and stars yet still spy on his target.

"Curssse the white faceses." He hissed. "It spieses on usss for the Cat." The Harpy's companion Amorok was now used to his friends talking to himself and ignored it.

"What do you plan to do?" He asked. "Your swarm is dead and my pack nearly destroyed, only Geri and Freki remain."

"The tree-man that killed massster, he will fall."

"But how?"

"The delegation isss on it'sss way to the palace, our agent will attack from the inssside, nothing can ssstop him."

"What shall we do in the meantime?"

"To the cavesss of Stormnessss Passs we will goses. Hidden we will become." Amorok growled and two smaller werewolves came forward from behind a rock, one was slobbering and was half crazed, his gray coat was matted and covered in brambles and burrs. The other was stronger and beta to Amorok's pack, the only one strong enough for the position, his coat was gray like his litter-mates but much, much cleaner.

"We go to Stormness Pass, scout on ahead and make sure we do not come across anyone whatsoever, and remember, no howling."

"Yes alpha." Geri the older of the two and beta of the pack said. The two turned and headed in the direction of the mountains, and after a quick look back on Cair Paravel the other two left.

 **So I was originally going to wait a bit before I wrote this one since I just finished Proud to serve, but I had so many ideas and I knew I'd forget them so I just went on with it. Hope you enjoyed this much and leave a review.**


	2. Chapter 1: Babies and escorts

(Rainquicken tenth, thirteenth hour, Ethan's POV)

Lucy skipped around the halls of Cair Paravel, a bunch of delegations from all over will be coming and she was excited. I couldn't help but chuckle as she grabbed a maid by the hands and spun her around, laughing merrily. I too was also excited mainly because Aunt, Uncle and my cousin were coming also, my cousin wasn't at the grove at the time of the sorcerer, I never found out why. Helena was standing next to me with her sister in her arms.

"Wanna hold her?" Helena asked.

"I'm good." I replied bluntly, breakable little humans didn't do good with me.

"Oh come on the baby has been alive for three months and you've yet to hold her." She was getting closer and looked like she was about to dump the baby in my arms, she practically did. I tensed up and looked at Helena.

"I have no clue what I'm supposed to do." I said, but Helena adjusted my arms so that I was holding the babe he way I was supposed to.

"See, not that bad." She said as she adjusted the blanket that was wrapped around the baby. The baby coed and reached up with her little hands. She patted my face and nearly gouged me eye out.

"So when exactly are you going to name her?" I asked, Nymph tradition stated that babies were not named until a certain amount of time after their birth to better name the child a name that suits them. Until then they were called blossoms for girls (hence Helena's nickname from her father) and boys were called saplings.

"In a year after the birth exactly, so Tarva fourteenth." I nodded and would say something but I feared the babe would stick it's hand in my mouth. The baby stopped patting my face and started fiddling with my tunic. I was about to speak but Captain Klyro approached, I handed the baby back to Helena (and almost dropped it) and snapped to attention.

"Stand at ease sergeant." I spread my legs in customary parade rest and awaited his commands.

"I need you to take your squad and meet with the delegation from Archenland." All in all there was to be at least five delegations if I remembered correctly, one from Calormen, Archenland, Terebinthia, Telmar and the Lone Islands.

"Yes sir, I will ready my men at once." I was dismissed and walked towards the barracks, they should be there considering the time of day but for all I know they could have been drafted by Queen Susan to help with preparations for the arrival of the ambassadors. Luckily they were all there. The way the barracks were set up every squad had their own rooms, they were small of course but served their purposes.

"Sergeant on deck." The Centaur in my squad yelled as they all stood at attention. I ordered them to rest before I spoke.

"Alright men, gear up, we are to meet with the Archenlandish delegation and escort them back here, I expect you to be ready to move out in half an hour. You are dismissed." I went to my locker which was by my bunk and grabbed my stuff, my armor, my sword and a horn to announce our arrival. Last time the Archenlanders visited half their escort was killed by fell and a large amount wounded. Of course the sorcerer behind the attack has been dead for three months now but still there were fell out there. I went to the stables and grabbed my sword, Flumkin the blacksmith made it for me after my last one was left next to the sorcerer's corpse. My destrier awaited me, he tossed his golden mane back and snickered in delight. I put on his saddle and swung up, the fauns and the naiad in my squad were already mounted, the rest could not ride because one was a Centaur, there were three wolves who are the pups if Maugrim and a talking Bighorn sheep. They lined up behind me in two rows and at my command we headed out.

 **What delegation do you think the assassin will be with? Let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 2: the duke

(Rainquicken tenth, fifteenth hour, Ethan's POV)

I blew my horn when we were in sight with the Archenland delegation, signaling to the Archenlanders that we were coming, it was answered shortly after by another horn, this one wasn't as rich as the Narnia horns but instead it was fuller. I gave the command and my squad continued down the road. I saw the Duke Frivar's carriage, it was bearing his banner. This meant that King Edmund would be all lovey dovey the entire time because chances were that Lady Brecase was there too. But what really caught my attention was how large their original escort is, they had maybe ten armed men with them, which with my fifteen makes it only twenty five soldiers, not including myself. We approached the group and stopped, the commanding officer rode over to me. He was the same one from last time, I remember him because he attended the ball and was a large warrior who would be a fair match for General Oreius, he was even as tall as the General, he probably stood at seven feet, I was an average height for people my age, I stood an inch or so over King Edmund who was just a few months younger than me but around this man I felt like a bug.

"The Hero of Narnia." He said as he stopped his horse, it too was a large animal. I saluted him and stopped my horse. I had to force myself not to cringe or grimace when he called me by that nickname. It really was irritating.

"Sir, my men are at your disposal till we reach the Cair." I said, I've been working on my military voice, trying for a stern and commanding sound but I sounded like an idiot instead, the captain grinned.

"I know nothing about commanding Narnians, how bout you take charge of your men and I'll lead mine." I've never heard this man but he acted nothing like I expected, all the commanding officers I've met were stern and sometimes harsh but this man was a jovial as I am sometimes.

"I've heard about how you took on a sorcerer, killed a pack of werewolves and carried the King out on your shoulders unscathed. How much of that is true?" He asked.

"I did take on the sorcerer and I did carry the King but I was far from unscathed and I certainly didn't wipe out a pack of werewolves." The man laughed loudly and heartedly.

"I figured it was exaggerated but I knew there was some truth or else you wouldn't be so famous. Perhaps sometime we can get together and swap stories."

"I've fought very little, only two battles but I look forward to it." The man laughed again and I couldn't help but grin, he reminded me a lot like Uncle. I took my leave and rode over to the royal carriage. With a flip of my hand the squad began to fan out through the entourage, subtly encircling them. It was something Captain Klyro taught me how to do, he said "even if you're meeting up with the High King's escort led by General Oreius, always do it, you never know when it can save your life."

The carriage was large and I could easily look into while mounted. The door opened revealing the Duke, his wife Heather, his son Frivar the II and of course his daughter Brecase. There were a few other ambassadors and other nobles but I was supposed to talk to the Duke.

"Duke Frivar, Narnia eagerly awaits your arrival." I was given a script to memorize if I ever had to do something like this but I forgot most of it.

"Ah the Hero of Narnia, it is good to see you again, last I saw you it was at the Christmas ball when you kissed that pretty young healer." First off he refers to me by my annoying title that the palace staff had just recently stopped calling me, then he brings up one of the most embarrassing moments in my life. As much as I hated to admit I felt my face start to heat up.

"You know she did a good job patching up my men, I'd trust her if I was near death."

"Yes sir, she's one of the best healers in Narnia, saved my life." I thought about how I was near death when she ran into the tent with the Queen's cordial and gave me one or the crimson drops. But I'd have Queen Susan to worry about if I didn't get to the palace in a decent amount of time.

"Sir, I recommend we head out so we can reach Cair Paravel at a good time."

"Yes, let us go." The Duke replied.

I turned my horse around and walked until it was next to the Captain, at our orders we headed out, going back the way we just came. We should be there in a hour at the most.

 **please review. Also I have another poll that'd like you guys to vote on, I'd appreciate that more than reviews.**


	4. Chapter 4: the ambassador

**I apologize for the lateness of this chapter, I'll try and update faster but no promises.**

(Rainquicken tenth, fifteenth hour, Ethan's POV)

The good captain Angar and I rode our steeds at the front of the column. He was telling me tales of his many exploits, after I told him the battle I had with the sorcerer he set off on telling me about every battle he's been in, which was quite a few.

"There was one time when I was fighting those Calormen raiders near our borders, you know Blueglade is right by the southern border and my men and I were waiting in ambush. The funny thing was our target was waiting too, right below us. So after we finally realized it I sent the word throughout my men and we charged down at them and with only one casualty which was because he stumbled down the hill and fell, he was always a clumsy lad. Anyway we defeated them." He set himself off in a fit of laughter as he remembered it and I couldn't help but chuckle, not really at his story but at how jovial he was. He looked up and stopped laughing, I looked up to see what it was and saw the magnificence of Cair Paravel just above the treetops.

"Aw there she is." He said. "A beautiful sight to be sure, I've been to Cair Paravel many times and it's never ceased to amaze me, no matter which direction we come from its sparkling in sunlight as if it's made from glass and diamond." There wasn't much else to be said so I just nodded, we both fell into a peaceful silence. Which after his constant chatter was greatly welcomed on my part.

We arrived shortly after that, just as the Telmarine delegation arrived. As we were dismounting they marched into the courtyard. Most of them looked like sailors, but I've heard that Telmarines were pirates, grand seafaring folk. Well at least that's what I've heard, until now I haven't had any interactions with them.

While the monarchs greeted our guests. Captain Klyro came over and I saluted.

"Anything to report?" He asked strictly. From experience I knew that this was his officer, no nonsense attitude. He really was a compassionate faun.

"Negative sir, everything went smoothly." I too was working on my military attitude, it still needed work.

"You have arrived later than expected. Why was that?"

"Sorry sir, I should have pushed for us to move faster. I take full responsibility for our late arrival."

"I expect you to report to the training yard at sixth hour sharp tomorrow morning." I should've known he would give me extra training or something else as dastardly.

"Yes sir." Was all I said, there was nothing else to say.

"The Calormen and Telmarine delegations have arrived, be on high alert." The Captain had never been one to be overly paranoid because of certain people but he was always protective. He nearly killed me just because I knew his daughter.

"Yes sir."

"You're a good buckling Ethan. I trust you will be at the banquet tonight?"

"Helena along with Queen Susan have forcefully requested my presence, I will be there."

"Good. Now you're dismissed." I saluted again as customary to proper army protocol and walked away. When an officer, especially the Captain dismissed someone they left.

I found myself walking down the halls past busy maids and other servants , everyone was put to work when big events like this took place, many times I'd be working with the kings.

I was walking down a quieter corridor when I saw someone walking towards me. I tightened my grip on my sheathed sword and kept walking. The man was Calormen, and if he was who I thought he was he was one of the only pleasant ones. I say that because all the ones I've heard about are pompous windbags who won't stop talking about the poets, their ancestors and other stuff that we Narnians found boring.

"Greetings lad, I am Ridgaff Tarkaan. Who might you be?"

"I am Sergeant Ethan of the Narnian army."

"But with all due respect you are a mere boy, you should not have been forced into battle."

"We has some unfortunate events and I happened to be in the right place at the right time."

"Ah I thought you looked familiar, you are the one that stopped the sorcerer, the Hero of Narnia, you're quite famous."

"By Aslan's blessings I was able to and it was Aslan's blessing only." For some reason he didn't act up because of the mention of Aslan. Either I had some terrible stereotypes (probably) or this man was definitely different compared to his fellow countrymen.

"Well good, good, Aslan's guidance is always the best, we would not be where we are without Him." Now that was a surprise, if you didn't believe in Tash then you were scorned, how did he get such a high title? That was one thing that I knew for certain about Calormen culture.

"Now I'm terribly embarrassed but I am a lost, how do I get to the west wing where the rest of the delegation is?"

"Down the hall that way, make a right and after you pass two corridors you will turn left and that's it."

"Thank you sergeant, I will see you tonight hopefully at the banquet." I turned and left, completely perplexed.

 **fun fact: the ambassador that Ethan talked to is the father of the Calormen warrior from Tournament of champions.**

 **Please review, oh please oh please review, I need to know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.**


	5. Chapter 5: cousin

(Rainquicken tenth, sixteenth hour, Helena's POV)

I sat in front of my mirror as I combed my hair. I was excited for the dancing and celebrating but not necessarily the company, yes all the Narnians and the Archenlanders are fine but Telmarines and Calormen were never fun. I have no clue about Terebinthia because they never visited.

I put my hair up in a loose braid and started decorating it with various flowers to match my green dress. Normally Mother would be helping me but she was so busy with the baby, I didn't envy her, I just wished mother had more time to rest and relax. I decided to go without jewelry, I stood up but as I turned to leave a necklace hanging on my mirror caught my eye, it was the one Ethan got me for Christmas. The simple silver chain with the pearl teardrop at the end. As I clasped the necklace around my neck it made me think about Ethan. He had changed so much since he first showed up on the beach, we still didn't know how. He went from a nervous boy, to a confident sergeant. He had been through a lot also, forced into battle, seeing so much death at such a young age, forced to kill. I thought about the time I found him in one of the gardens, curled up in fetal position and as white a parchment, there was a large puddle of vomit right by his head. He was trembling and when I approached him he jumped and tried to crawl further into the corner. I asked him if he wanted to tell me but he didn't want to, he said that he didn't want me to know what he knew. He finally settled down and we walked back into the palace, he did however make me promise not to tell anyone, I have yet to break that promise.

I left my room and met with Father in the living room, the twins were staying with Mother so it was just Father and I going. We met up with Ethan and his family as we approached the ballroom. This was the first time I'd met his cousin, he was very wiry and looked like he would blow away in the next small gust of wind. He had shaggy blonde hair and light green eyes. His name turns out is Ilex.

"So you're Helena huh." He said after we were introduced. "Ethan has told me about ya, though he didn't tell me how pretty ya are." I saw father (who was ahead of us talking to Ethan's aunt and uncle) turn his head slightly, he definitely heard it. But what really surprised me was what Ethan did, he grabbed Ilex by his shirt and lifted him off the ground. He muttered something to him that I couldn't make out and only after the boy nodded did Ethan drop him.

()()()()()()

(Rainquicken tenth, sixteenth hour, Ethan's POV)

"You will leave her alone. Do you understand?" I said to my cousin as I held him off the ground, he was slightly heavier than I expected but I did it with ease. Ilex nodded and I let go. He stumbled a bit before he looked at me angrily.

"I see, ya just wanna scare me off so ya don't have any competition. Is that right?" I was mad now but I had to hide it, military officers couldn't afford to be short tempered. I wasn't technically an officer yet but I was working towards it, I only had one more rank to go.

"Helena is my best friend, if you mess with her in any way you'll find yourself stuffed in a box on a one way trip to the Lone Islands."

I saw Ilex ball his fists and before I knew it he jumped at me. Out of instinct I jumped to the side and grabbed his arm, I quickly threw him to the ground. He got up and went for another try but Uncle's big hand grabbed him behind the neck.

"What's going on?" He asked, clearly upset. I was about to answer but Ilex spoke first.

"I was just talking to Helena here, and before I knew what's happening I'm thrown to the ground by cousin here." That rotten little liar.

"Did you attack Ethan?" Aunt Iris asked, unconvinced. Hopefully Uncle didn't believe him either. I didn't have a chance to find out because Helena spoke up.

"Sir, Ilex was getting bold and was openly flirting with me, Ethan in defense grabbed him and told him to stop it. Ilex then proceeded to taunt Ethan and after he found out that Ethan would not play into it he then attacked him. I find that a foolish move because Ethan is a famed fighter and took him down before anyone got hurt."

"Oi, before anyone got 'urt?" Ilex exclaimed. "I got thrown on da floor."

"I saw the whole thing." The Captain said as he walked over. "Your son attacked my sergeant."

"Shame on ya Ilex, Ethan is flesh and blood. Not only that but he's a war hero, saved us all. What's gotten into ya boy?" Ilex said nothing and just continued to glare at me, even more so after Uncle mentioned the sorcerer's defeat.

"Now I'm giving ya one more chance, ya either shape up or you won't be able to come join us at the celebration." Uncle let go of him and we all started back to the grand hall.

()()()()()()

Queen Susan really out did herself, everything was magnificent. Ilex who was still fuming just walked over and leaned against one of the pillars.

"Would you like to dance?" I asked Helena with a bow and then extended my hand.

"Most certainly." She said with a curtsy, she took my hand and I led her to the dance floor. Her hand was a good deal softer than mine, my hands weren't as tough as most soldiers in the army but they were getting there. We closed to dance position as the music began, the Narnian waltz was one of my favorites. Helena moved gracefully to the music, I was still out of practice.

 **You know he drill, leave a review or Shadow battalion will use your house as a staging ground in their assault of America.**


	6. Chapter 6: Poisoned

(Rainquicken tenth, twenty-second hour, Ethan's POV)

The celebration was still going, I had just taken my leave from Helena and was talking with Peter.

"So Peter, how's the new training exercise going?" I asked, General Oreius had put him on a harder, more strenuous exercise.

"Ugh it's terrible, just hope Captain Klyro doesn't put you on the same one."

"Well you see I'm already so advanced that putting me on that would be easier." I joked, knowing full well that I wouldn't last a day doing Peter's training.

"Yeah right, maybe Edmund's but not mine."

"How is King Edmund?" I asked.

"As twitterpated as ever. He was late to council today and I just hope he makes it on time for negotiations, we need him the most."

"He is quite good at that sort of thing isn't he." I remarked. King Edmund was in fact one of the best diplomats and negotiator in all of Narnia. He was also a master of law, and a wise judge.

"Oh yes we need you at the negotiations too." Peter said, changing the subject.

"What, why me?" I did not want to deal with pompous Calormen and thieving Telmarines.

"You are the Hero of Narnia, you make quite an impression."

"But I don't want to be the Hero of Narnia, and I hold no political power, I barely hold any military power. I'm just a sergeant."

"A sergeant who killed a sorcerer, has the Lion's Heart and the Warrior's Crest. You were chosen by Aslan to save Narnia and your rescued Edmund by carrying him on your back while you were terribly wounded. You almost died in service to Narnia. You are so much more than a sergeant, you're a Narnian, right now you're the figurehead of the military."

"But I don't know how to do that sort of thing, I've never negotiated trade routes and alliances before."

"You don't have to say anything, you can just sit there and look confident."

"I don't really have a choice now do I?"

"No, not really."

"Alright, I'll be there ready to make the best impression I can."

"Good, now I need to get back to the party, I have to make an impression right now sadly."

"Alright Peter, talk to you later." The High King disappeared into the crowd, and I was left alone to my thoughts, I really didn't want to be at the negotiations but for Narnia I will.

I was busy with my thoughts when I heard a loud commotion. Someone screamed and I rushed over and pushed through the crowd, hand ready on my sword. I came to the center and saw Peter lying on the ground, barely breathing. Queen Susan and King Edmund were sitting by him trying to wake him up, Lucy was off to get her cordial. Helena was there too checking his pulse and such, she always has her satchel with her and was working hard. I knelt next to Peter and couldn't help but feel devastated. He was like a big brother to me. I had to force myself to not let out a string of curses.

"He's been poisoned." Helena said bitterly. "Until we find out with what we cannot help him."

"No one is to leave here." I heard the Captain order. He had the most authority here because the General never came to things like this. Some of the Calormen argued his decision but he ignored them.

"Sergeant Ethan, I want you in charge of investigation. Gather your squad and have them report to me immediately." I stood up and yelled at the top of my lungs.

"Fire squad form up!" From all over the room my squad gathered and stood at attention. I turned to the Captain and saluted. The Captain saluted back and spoke to my men and myself.

"You will question everyone here no matter their position or allegiance. For all we know it could be one of us. Burbite, Ripclaw, Stormfang, you three are the best investors in Narnia, do your job and report to Sergeant Ethan with every bit of information you learn." He turned to me. "Sergeant, I have full trust in your capability of handling this, the life of the Monarchs depends on your success." He saluted and I saluted back. The Captain left to go speak with General, leaving me in charge as of now.

"I want everyone to go to their respective delegations." I ordered. Most everyone went to do as I said but some did not.

"Do you require an escort?" I asked the others, they glared at me but did as I say. It was here that I realised how much power I held over them, I didn't want to abuse it.

"Burbite, you are to investigate the Narnians, Stormfang you take the Terebinthians and Ripclaw you take the Telmarines. Take three others with you. Rockfist, you and the remaining soldiers will come with me to the Calormens. Every other soldier in here will block any and all exits, that includes the balcony." Soldiers hustled about, doors slammed and windows closed. I walked to the corner but before I got there Lucy rushed in and ran over to where Peter was laying.

"Someone stole my cordial." She cried. "I couldn't find it anywhere." My heart stopped, now I really had to find whoever poisoned our High King.

 **Burbite, Ripclaw are not mine, they are the property of 2tame a river. Her stuff is great, you should go check it out.**

 **Peter is close to death, will Ethan find the assassin and discover what the antidote is before it's too late? Who do you think did it? Please review, next chapter is investigations.**


	7. Chapter 7: Edmund

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(Rainquicken eleventh. Eleventh hour. Ethan's POV)

The next day I found myself in the Captain's office giving him a report on the search.

"So far I have had little luck: a Telmarine guard said that he heard two people talking, one with a Calormen accent and the other a Terebinthian, but I am still interviewing everyone. Stormfang is on his way to speak with the palace kitchen staff; I do not know when he will be done." I said.

"Very good, Ethan. Any news on the High King's condition?" I was surprised that he didn't call me sergeant like he usually did; I didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but I assumed the former.

"I spoke with Helena this morn, if anything, his majesty is getting worse." Captain Klyro's jaw clenched and he rolled his hands into fists. He was as loyal to our sovereigns as much as the General himself; he would die before he let anything happen to any of them. Though the General had more of a family relationship with the monarchs, the Captain had a loyalty to them. If you wanted a picture of a loyal Narnian then all one had to do is describe the Captain.

"I have a search party looking everywhere for the Queen's cordial," he said. "But so far we are having just as much luck as you."

"Do you think the fell are involved? Maybe a few of Rafar's minions that escaped?" I shuddered slightly when I named the sorcerer. I tried to avoid it as much as possible. Memories flashed through my mind, memories I strive to forget.

"That is unlikely, if they were smart they would hide it out for a while."

"Well, sir, I need to interview the Terebinthian servants."

"Yes, sergeant, you are dismissed." I stood up and left the room, and almost immediately I was met by Ruby the hummingbird. She landed on my held out finger; she barely weighed a thing.

"Ethan, King Edmund requests your presence in his private study as soon as possible." The little creature said, her voice was high but not annoying, unlike a few of the ladies in waiting for Queen Susan.

"Can you show me the way? I haven't been there yet." I still haven't managed to memorize all of Cair Paravel, in fact very few (if any) of the people here had. The hummingbird flew off my finger and led me towards King Edmund's study; we reached it in a short amount of time and I knocked. Ruby flew away to see to some other things.

"Come in." I heard King Edmund say. I opened the door and stepped in. I saw a large desk slightly cluttered with papers and documents. A large window sat behind him looking out to the forests, towards Beruna and the stone table. King Edmund sat at his desk finishing up some paperwork. I bowed slightly at the waist and stood there.

"Sergeant Ethan, I need your help." King Edmund said grimly, and I couldn't blame him, his brother was quickly dying.

"What is it, sire?" I asked.

"Well, that makes two things. First, call me Edmund. Second, we are continuing with the negotiations, and there's a strong chance that the assassin will be there. They might slip up and give us some clues."

"Yes, your highness – I mean – Edmund." It was weird calling him by his first name. When I first met Peter he had insisted on being called by his name. But because I embarrassed him, we hadn't been the best of friends.

"Good, now if you'll change into your dress uniform, I'll meet you in the council room."

"Yes, Edmund." I bowed again, and got corrected for it before I left for the barracks. Along the way I was met by Ilex, and I had to force myself not to sigh as he approached.

"You better watch yourself, cousin, you had the upper hand last time, but you won't be so lucky the next." He said as he fell into step beside me.

"I don't have time for this, Ilex." I replied.

"Oh yes, the "Hero of Narnia" has so many responsibilities now that he's so high and mighty." He said mockingly. "Of course you have always been the topic of conversation, father was always going to your tree just to check on it. Must be nice to be so special." I turned and pushed him up against the stone wall.

"I've seen things that you couldn't possibly imagine. I've fought in battles, I've seen death, " I took a slight breath, "and I caused death. I am busy trying to find out who poisoned our High King and am not in the mood to deal with you. So unless you know something about the High King's condition, I suggest you stay away." I let go of him and walked away.

()()()()()()

(Rainquicken eleventh. Twelfth hour. Ethan's POV)

I sat next to King Edmund at his left side, looking as stoic as possible. There were guards all throughout the room: Narnians, Telmarines, Archenlanders, Terebinthians, and Calormen. The litter of Maugrim were there too, and I was glad of it. A certain Terebinthian looked at me strangely, and I had to force myself not to stare back just to make him uncomfortable. Ridgaff Tarkaan sat across from me with the other Calormen diplomat. He seemed more eager than the others to strengthen ties with us.

"Prince Edmund, I would like to offer my sympathy on your brother's condition." The lead Telmarine diplomat said. He was a tall, wiry man who reminded me of a fox. He had red hair and a white beard, so he really, truly looked like one too.

"He is King Edmund the Just." Duke Frivar said sternly. "And you will address him as such. With his older brother now in unstable condition he is ruler of Cair Paravel beneath Aslan only." I noted that Edmund's face paled slightly at the thought of him being in charge now, but he didn't let on any more than that. He was a master diplomat; they would never know.

"Thank you for your compassion, Syspain, third in your line." Edmund said.

"May we begin with the negotiations?" Ridgaff asked. And that we did.

()()()()()()

 **please let me know what all y'all thought about this chapter.**

 **And a huge thanks to Dymphna Karpovna who graciously beta read this. She has been a big help. So let's all give her a round of applause.**


	8. Chapter 8: the cordial

()()()()()()

(Rainquicken twelfth. Ninth hour. Garnar's POV)

I trudged through the mud: Uncle was always good at making hard training exercises. I was covered in slime, mud, and sweat. I rammed into a series of training dummies and shattered them to pieces.

"How was that, Uncle?" I asked the large, battlescarred, white rhino. He snorted in disapproval.

"How many times must I tell you? When you charge never propel yourself with all your weight. Not only will you tire quickly but it is very hard to stop. You could run into a spear, or off a cliff, for that matter." Uncle worked hard on training me so that when I became old enough I could take over the Crash. After Papa died protecting High King Peter during the battle of Beruna, Uncle was head of the Crash and none dared to challenge him for it. The only one that could ever beat Uncle was Papa. Uncle said I was a lot like Papa, and Mama did too, andwhich makes me proud. Papa was a hero, and I didn't want to let him down.

"It's your job to protect your siblings and Mama. Uncle will help you but it's your job, Garnar. Will you do that for me?" That was what he told me before he left. He never came back, and it is my duty to keep my promise. I will never break it.

I was brought back to the present by Uncle. He was giving me a disapproving glare.

"You weren't paying attention, Garnar."

"Sorry, Uncle. What were you saying?" I apologized. Uncle huffed, clearly frustrated. But then he dipped his head.

"Your Papa used to not pay attention. He was always imagining being a hero." He said sadly. Uncle didn't talk much about Papa; they were very close and when Papa never came back it left him and the entire Crash broken hearted. We all knew we'd see him again in Aslan's country, but we all missed him.

"Training is done for today." Uncle said as he turned and went to the higher grounds where there wasn't as much flooding, and where the other rhinos were. I however went to a series of rocks near the base of the Mountains. High King Peter gave us stewardship over Stormness Pass, and it was our job to protect it. There was a fort nearby, but we were the first line of defense.

I reached my destination and was immediately met by my siblings, Rhonhilda and Conait. Conait tried to knock me down but I won, I always won because I was the oldest.

"What were you doing?" I asked.

"Looking for stuff." Rhonhilda said.

"Did you find anything?" I asked excitedly. We were always looking for treasures. Sometimes we scared Mama when we looked too far and got lost. We got lost a lot and had to find our way home.

"Yeah, come look." Conait said as we approached a flat rock we kept our treasures on. Most of them were pretty rocks and weird shaped sticks. Conait pointed with his snout to a small vial. I sniffed it curiously.

"Do you know what this is?" I asked after I figured out what it was.

"No, what is it?" Rhonhilda asked.

"This is Queen Lucy's cordial, the one from Father Christmas." I exclaimed, probably in too loud of a voice. Mama always said I was loud, Rhonhilda was quiet, and Conait just liked to hear himself make noise.

"But how did it get here? The Kings and Queens haven't been this way in a long time." Rhonhilda said sadly and confused at the same time. She likes Queen Susan, for they were friends. Queen Susan says that once she gets older she could be one of her ladies in waiting, though I don't really understand how a Rhino could do that.

"I don't know, but we need to take it to her." I said.

"Cair Paravel is an awful long way from here." Conait said.

"We can take it to the fort in no time at all. Swiftflight can take it to her." I replied.

"Should we tell Mama?" Rhonhilda asked.

"We will be right back, the fort isn't that far away." I said and that settled it. We rushed off towards the fort, going as fast as we could.

()()()()()()

(Rainquicken twelfth. Thirteenth hour. Helena's POV)

I applied a damp cloth to the High King's head. He was burning up and starting getting delirious. I had hoped that he would say something that could help us find out who poisoned him and with what, but all he did was talk about his siblings. The Queens had been at his side almost the entire time, King Edmund was working on how to handle the diplomats and keep Narnia looking strong but he still managed to visit. Mother had been working hard on tending to the High King but she was exhausted from taking care of Blossom and keeping up as the Head Healer.

"How is he?" Ethan asked. I didn't have to look back to know who he was, we had grown so close over the last few months that I could tell by his footsteps and vice versa. He leaned on the bedpost and sighed. He was wearing his dress uniform, decorated with the Lion's Heart and the Warrior's Crest. He had shadows under his eyes from weariness. He had been working hard on the investigation.

"Why are you in your dress uniform?" I asked, not really caring either way, but was tired of the silence. I needed someone to talk to badly.

"King Edmund wanted me to attend the negotiations and see if we could discover who the assassin is." He replied without looking.

"Did you discover anything?" I asked carefully. Stuff like that was normally kept to certain ears only. He looked around for listening ears before he spoke in a soft whisper.

"A Terebinthian was acting suspiciously. He acted like he knew me from somewhere but nothing that was related to the High King. I didn't recognize him but, given my memory is still fuzzy, I could have met him before." Ethan quickly went quiet when another healer came in. The healer was a female faun that was like an aunt to me. Her name was Silvia.

"Helena, go get some rest. Your mother instructed me to relieve you for awhile." She said with a soft voice and a compassionate smile. I nodded and stood up and headed towards the door. Ethan opened the door for me and I stepped through, only to immediately be tackled by something. I couldn't see anything besides a dark shadow from the corner of my eye as I fell to the foor and hit my head. It wasn't enough to knock me unconscious but it made me dizzy. I heard Ethan yell, a loud thump, and swords being drawn.

()()()()()()

(Rainquicken twelfth. Thirteenth hour. Ethan's POV)

Something tackled Helena, and before I knew it, I was kicking it in the side. I got it off of her, and it stared at me, it was now that I was thankful for my title because he must've not been expecting me and he was almost trembling. It was definitely human, Calormen by the looks of it.

"You stay away from her." I said as I put myself between him and Helena. I heard the door to the healing ward open and someone being dragged. I could only hope whoever it was took Helena to safety.

The Calormen lunged at me, his sword pointed at my chest. I knocked his sword away, and swung for his head. He blocked it and stabbed at me again. I sidestepped and kicked the man between the legs. He gave a grunt before he toppled to the floor.

"May Tash forever curse you." He said in a strained voice. I couldn't help but cringe myself, I knew the pain too well myself. But I was also ecstatic, this man was obviously after Peter to finish him off and whoever else was in his way. Hopefully he was the Calormen that the Telmarine heard talking, and that meant we only needed to find one more.

Guards came and took him away, and after I knew he was thoroughly bound, I went in to check on Helena.

 **So the three Rhinos belong to both Dymphna Karpovna and myself, you can read more about them in her story "Of riddles and Aravis's pocket" on her page.**

 **Again reviews are greatly appreciated so I know what I need to change and what to keep.**


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